Farm life without our summer interns

Two of our fabulous interns are gone, at least for now, and Hannah and Case will be taking off soon. I already miss them all, they have become part of the Free Farm family. I have been so appreciative of all of their help and actually I have been appreciative of all the help we have been getting making this farm happen. It is truly a miracle when I think about the transformation this once pretty much barren lot has taken. There is so much more life here now. Yesterday I observed a hummingbird visitor checking out the hummingbird sage. Our visits from our neighbors who come by to chat also bring a community of life to the place. I am waiting for us to build more real soil and the micro life to flourish. It is also a blessing to share our produce with people in need and to see neighbors faces light up when you talk about collards and greens.
Things are moving ahead in terms of just getting the Free Farm built. Most of the planting beds are made. We now have a beautiful bike cart and bulletin board. All the beds are labeled, the labyrinth is finished, we have two new hose bibs, and we have a somewhat enclosed area where we can grow warm things. Phil just planted another sweet potato plant and a kiwi. The tomatoes are growing crazy and need to be pruned and tied up. We have a lot of baby seedlings that need potting up and will be ready to plant in a few weeks. We are harvesting mostly squash and beans right now and are saving lettuce to give to the Friendship Banquet dinner on Tuesday nights for people with HIV and their families (Griff harvested about 30 heads of lettuce for our first donation). Talking about gratefulness and appreciation, we are deeply appreciative of St Paulus Church for so generously allowing us to use this land to serve those in need in our community.
When I was closing up on Wednesday our dear comrade and farming buddy Pancho dropped in with his family. He has been gone for over a month doing beautiful love work in Arizona and then went traveling to Seattle with his family from Mexico. I can’t wait to hear more stories from him. I really enjoyed meeting his family and his dad likes to give hugs as much or more than Pancho. Lucky for us we will be seeing him Saturday.

We can really use new interns or at least some people to help us with a few regular tasks: blogging once a week, cooking a vegan lunch once a month, either Wednesdays or Saturdays, an artist to help us make a new flier and possible business cards, greeting visitors at the gate, weighing and distributing produce on Saturdays, or record keeping in our newly designed planting log binder. We are also currently looking for lumber (like 2 X12’s) and re-bar to help us finish our two new terraces.

If you want to see a history of the farm through photos check pout Griff's previous post.